Terrible Twosday
by Lanie L Sullivan
Summary: #5 in the Francine/Beaman series. How does the gang prepare to handle the return of Nathaniel Brody? Warning: Due to the nature of the show's given plot, this one will not be the light-hearted romp the prior stories in the series have been.
1. Two Birds, One Stone

Francine was at her desk the next day with her thoughts in a whirl. She was supposed to be trying to figure out how she could help with the Brody thing, but she couldn't get her mind off of the way she'd left things with Beaman last night. She couldn't figure out what was up with him being so hot and cold toward her; one minute they were making out hot and heave; the next, he acted like he'd had a bucket of cold water thrown on him.

Her mind jumped back to Roxanne's sneer when she'd talked about her own fling with Beaman and shuddered a bit. A hopeful thought struck her then. Maybe that's why he was taking his time...because he'd been burned with Roxanne. She decided she had to find out so she bolted from her desk and quickly hurried toward the elevator to get to the training department.

As it turned out, she didn't have to go that far because when the elevator opened, out stepped Beaman. "Hey," she greeted him with a half-smile.

"I was just coming to see you," they said in unison and then shared a chuckle over it.

"I didn't like the way we left things last night," he began. He also didn't like the fact that he'd been stupid enough to leave when she'd practically begged him to stay. Still, he couldn't help wondering if she'd only asked because she was lonely and not because it was him she really wanted. He'd heard the stories about how she'd been jilted at the altar several years ago and since then had pretty much just been looking for a good time when it came to guys. _Just like Roxanne,_ he thought bitterly, but then chided himself for that thought since they were two very different women. Still, he didn't want to be just another one of those guys, but more than that, he also didn't want to risk hurting her like she'd been hurt back then, not if she were genuinely starting to care for him. _Don't go there,_ he warned himself. _You both need time to figure things out._

"Yeah, I didn't either," she responded honestly.

"I want you to know that the second I was out the door, I realized how things sounded...like I was some guy who just...you know-"

"Yeah, it did kinda' sound like that," she interrupted testily.

"Well, I didn't mean it that way," he explained apologetically. "I meant that I really would have called you."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she hadn't scared him off by asking him to spend the night.

"It hit me on my drive home that even though I'm not free tonight, I still should have made plans for another date some other night."

"Well, I don't know how long I'm going to be dealing with this Brody mess since we both know how stubborn Lee can be. Plus, I'm just starting this project with Dr. Dunleavy and that's going to take weeks..."

"Are you saying you don't want to see me again because I-I-" He broke off and quickly looked around to make sure no one was within earshot and then lowered his voice, "Because I didn't stay last night? If that's all you want from me, I-"

"No!" she said loudly, cutting him off again. She too, found herself looking around for anyone who might have heard her outburst, then seeing that the corridor was empty, she continued in a lower voice, "No, I just...I mean, it would be nice, but I've had a nice time with us just spending time together." She thought back to how he'd reacted when she'd teased him in the Q about fogging up the windows and figured maybe he just needed more time.

"So, how about Friday night?" he suggested. When she didn't reply, but instead looked like she was thinking hard about something, he tried again. "Francine...Friday? Or maybe another night if you're busy..."

"Oh, sorry," she shook her head. "Friday's great."

"Then what's got you so distracted all of a sudden?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about this Brody thing. Lee needs help and Amanda's out because she still has some tests she has to go through, but you said you were wanting to clock some more field time." Her thoughts of that day in the Q had gotten her putting the pieces together to come up with a solution.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he replied apprehensively. "He and I don't exactly get along."

"But isn't that mostly because of Amanda? I mean, you have to admit that you've been a bit hard on her in your training classes. You know that's going to set Lee off because he's so protective of her, especially since her shooting."

"Yeah, I guess it's worth a shot. But then there's the problem of talking _him_ into it."

"You just leave that to me. I'll take care of it," she promised and hurried off to the external elevator. She had one stop to make first, then she was going to deal with this once and for all.

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She stopped outside the door to the Q Bureau apprehensively, not sure what she would find inside when she heard raised voices coming from within. She really wanted to help knowing that Lee would feel responsible for finding Brody and sending him back to prison as well as talk to him about Beaman, but now she wasn't so sure she should get involved. She took a deep breath and told herself, "Just do it!" and opened the door.

As she stood in the doorway, she saw the newlyweds standing toe to toe, Amanda with a fiercely determined look on her face as she shouted, "What good do you think you're going to do if you don't get your proper rest? Look at you!" She gestured to his disheveled appearance. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"I can't." He shook his head adamantly. "Not until I know what Brody is up to next, not until I get him back behind bars where he belongs!"

"And just how do you think you're going to do that if you don't take care of yourself? Or if you wear yourself out from exhaustion?" Amanda continued, both of them seemingly oblivious to her presence. "And by the way, this isn't just and 'I' case. This is a 'we' case. I was right there beside you when he was arrested the first time, remember?"

"No, Amanda!" He began pacing. "Absolutely not! I don't want you anywhere near this, not until I know you're fully cleared for field duty."

"Maybe I can help," Amanda responded in a pleading tone. "I helped you the last time, didn't I?"

"You nearly died, Amanda! Do you think I'm going to just stand by and let that happen again? He's already killed Peters! The man is dangerous!"

Francine cleared her throat loudly. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"What?" Both snapped and their heads whipped toward her as Lee stopped in his pacing.

Francine would have laughed at the matching looks on their faces if this weren't such a serious situation. "I...um..." She let out a sigh. "If I could just play Devil's advocate for a moment here. I agree with both of you and I disagree with both of you." She turned to Lee. "Amanda's right, if you don't take some time for yourself and get some proper rest, you're not gonna' be any good to anybody." She then faced Amanda. "Amanda, Lee's right about you not taking on too much until the doctors tell you that you can. Weren't you just telling me yesterday that you still had some testing to go through before that could happen?"

Lee grinned at his wife in triumph. "So, what's your suggestion?" Amanda inquired, ignoring the smug look her husband was giving her.

"Beaman," Francine answered quickly. "He's been aching to clock some field time. He can fill in for Amanda and help you out." Of course, she wasn't about to tell them what Beaman had confided in her about his professional jealousy of Amanda.

"I don't need anyone to fill in for me, Francine," Amanda protested. "I'm still perfectly capable-"

"Of handling the stuff here in the office," Francine interrupted. "You're almost as good with the computer stuff as Beaman is, but let him do the legwork for once."

"You know, Lee, that's not a bad idea," Amanda told her husband thoughtfully.

"Beaman? Are you kidding?" Lee gaped a both women incredulously. "He may be good in the classroom, but he's never been field-tested."

"Sure, he has," Francine countered. "He went through the same training we all did. It's just that he hasn't had much opportunity for field word because his computer skills were needed in the office; that doesn't mean that he can't do it." She handed Lee the folder she'd brought with her. "Look at his scores from Station One and Dodge City. He can do this."

"Of course, you're not a bit biased because he's your boyfriend now?" Lee questioned her as he shot her a wary look since she just happened to come prepared with Beaman's records.

"I wouldn't go that far...just yet," she answered evasively. "Besides, this has nothing to do with that. You need someone to help you, he needs to gain more hands-on field experience. I'd say it's the perfect match."

"What makes you so sure Beaman would want to do it? He and I haven't actually seen eye-to-eye since he's been so hard on Amanda in class."

"Just ask him."

"Or better yet, I could ask him," Amanda suggested. "He might take it better coming from me." She already knew all about the tiff Lee had had with Beaman yesterday over their weekend escapades.

"Or even better," Francine interjected, "I could have Billy make it an order. Then he can't refuse, not that I think he will anyway, but if it comes from Billy, he's less likely to grumble about it." She already knew that despite Beaman's worries about working with Lee, he would jump at the chance to get out of the office since they'd talked about it on their first date, but Lee didn't need to know that part. It would only set him off again that she'd talked to Beaman first. The truth was she wanted to make it an order so _Lee_ couldn't refuse.

Lee let out a sigh, but finally conceded, "Yeah, that sounds like the best plan." He had to admit that he was already tired. He pointed to the white board in the corner of the room between the two desks. "Well, here's what I've got figured out so far." He explained how he'd been deep-diving into Brody's old network of contacts and had come up with a couple of leads.

"Did you figure out how he got to Peters?" Francine asked.

"No. The only thing that I can think of is that in the brief time he had the Barnstorm list, he must have gotten a look at the contacts on it."

"That's what makes the most sense," Amanda agreed.

"Thank God your name was never on it." Lee remembered mentioning to her at the time that she was the one person who helped him out the most whose name wasn't part of the Barnstorm list.

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, it hit Francine in that moment just how much Lee loved Amanda. Feeling as if she were intruding, she stammered awkwardly, "Uh...you know...why don't you two keep working on this and I'll go downstairs and get Billy to write up that order and give Beaman the news." She quickly made her escape to give the pair the privacy they clearly needed.


	2. Two Down

Feeling better about the situation between him and Francine, Beaman spend the next hour on cloud nine, especially once she'd told him that Amanda had talked Lee into agreeing to let him help with the Brody situation. He even promised himself he'd start being a bit nicer to Amanda in class. After all, she really had earned it and talking to Francine about it on their first date had really helped him to get all that off his chest. His good mood wasn't to last though once he started reading through the case files Francine had made sure he had. This Brody seemed like a scary piece of work. No wonder Amanda was worried about her partner.

Still, by the time he walked into his Covert Operations class that night it was with a smile on his face and a spring in his step because he was being included in something so important and he had another date with Francine. "Okay, Class," he greeted them. "I'm glad you were all able to meet tonight. As you know, today's the day when you put what you've been learning in the classroom into action in a real-world situation...or as close as it gets in our simulations. I know you're all anxious to put your skills to the test so let's not waste any time in getting down to the Tac room to get outfitted so we can get started."

As his students began to file out, he stopped Amanda, took her aside and asked, "Are you sure you're up for this? I know you haven't been fully cleared yet and this exercise can get pretty...well...physical."

"I'm sure," she assured him with a bit of a wary look. She wasn't sure if he was asking out of concern for her wellbeing or if he just didn't want her doing it because she had a habit of making him look bad...not intentionally, of course, but still, she knew it was a sore point with him.

"Just be careful," he warned her. "I don't want you hurting yourself on my watch." He lowered his voice. "I know he's still trying to play like he's this swinging bachelor, but the way he came at me yesterday about this past weekend, I know Stetson would never forgive me if I let something happen to you and he just agreed to let me work with him." He wondered if he should mention that he knew they were married. He was sure Lee would have told her by now, but since he was really wrapped up with this Brody thing, maybe he hadn't.

 _So that was it,_ she thought. "Listen, I get that, but I really need to do this so I can prove that I'm still capable. I promise that I won't overdo it and if it starts to be too much, I'll let you know." She couldn't resist teasing him a bit though. "Besides, you already know that I just spent the whole weekend with Lee. It doesn't get much more..." She paused as she grinned at him. "... _physical_ than that."

Beaman flushed at her implication and stammered awkwardly, "B-by the way, I-I...uh...I also wanted to thank you for going to bat for me with Lee. Francine told me you helped talk him into letting me help him."

She chuckled slightly at his red face and how he'd deftly dodged her innuendo and replied, "It was my pleasure, Efraim. You really are a good agent, but honestly, it wasn't just about you. I admit, it was a little...well, just a little bit selfish on my part. As much as he'd like to think he's Superman, he really needs someone to help him and since he won't let it be me, I'd rather it be you or Francine, but she's busy with her own work. I should really be thanking you for being willing to put up with him. I know he's not the easiest person to get along with when he's so laser-focused on a mission."

"That's for sure," he agreed. "Well, I'd better let you go get suited up with the rest of the class."

As he sat at his desk waiting for his class to return in the proper attire, he reflected back on the argument he'd had with Lee just yesterday.

 _He had just sat down at his desk and was preparing to go through his most recent stack of new recruit files when Lee stormed in and slammed the door behind him._

 _"We need to have a serious talk," Lee demanded._

 _"Look, if you're mad about me being harder on Amanda than the others in class again, you can just save your breath. As I've said before, I challenge her more because she's been here longer and she gets bored by the classroom exercises if I don't," he explained._

 _"You think_ _ **that's**_ _what this is about?" He shook his head._

 _"Isn't it?"_

 _"Please, Amanda can handle herself. I'm talking about you and Francine spying on us this weekend like some kind of sick peeping Tom. Is this supposed to be some twisted payback because I blackmailed you about your time in the copier room with Roxanne?"_

 _"Okay, first, we weren't spying on you. We were there and just happened to see you guys there. Second-"_

 _"So you just happened to be there at a remote out-of-the-way resort that we chose for that very reason?" At that moment, his eyes lit up and he crowed gleefully, "Ohhhh. So that's it! Francine finally agreed to go out with you and doesn't want anyone to know about it."_

 _"You don't know what you're talking about," he denied, but he knew the flush in his cheeks gave him away._

 _"No, I think I do."_

 _"Well, don't you start thinking you've got some kind of new blackmail material on me," he fired back as he rose from his seat to be level with his adversary. "I happen to know a few things too. Like for example, how this wasn't your first getaway with her. There was another one. February 13th ring a bell?"_

 _"Uh...I-"_

Gotcha', _he cheered inwardly at seeing the other man's panicked expression. "You know, certain documents are a matter of public record and easily accessible, especially for someone with my computer skills. It wouldn't take much to point someone in the right direction if they started asking questions...ooorrrr," he drawled. "Even if they didn't start asking questions. I'm sure Dr. Smyth or maybe even the Security Review Board would be interested to know how you really managed to get there so quickly after Amanda's shooting."_ _When he saw a pained and somewhat angered look cross the other man's features, he knew he'd gone too far._

 _"Okay, look, Beaman," Lee ground out through gritted teeth."Let's be reasonable here. Neither of us wants to make a big deal about this whole mess, so how does this grab you? You never saw us, we never saw you and everyone's happy."_

 _"Fine with me,"_ _he agreed."I sure as hell don't want to be tangled up in the office politics surrounding your love life. I've got enough on my plate every day trying to rein in the newbies who think that just because they made it to this point, they're instantly going to become James Bond."_ _He paused for a moment, trying to be diffident before going on, "Which reminds me, on a work-related note, as her supervising agent, you should know that Amanda's doing very well in Covert Ops class, but I do have a concern. We start the simulations tomorrow and I know you said she could handle herself, but I'm worried about her getting hurt."_

 _"Well, you'd just better make sure that doesn't happen. Maybe just for once, you could go a little easier on her instead of harder," Lee suggested._

 _"Come on, you know her. That would never work._ _She'd know the difference if I tried to baby her through it."_

 _And just like that, the Scarecrow swagger was back. "Then you'd just better damn well make sure she gets through that exercise safely. You got me?"_

"Beaman," someone called his name snapping him out of his thoughts. He found himself face to face with a disheveled and distraught-looking Lee.

"God, you look like hell," Efraim blurted out without thinking.

"Yeah, thanks," Lee replied blandly, not even putting up a fight as he normally would. "Listen, I...uh...I know you've got your class thing tonight, but I...uh...I really need to speak to Amanda before you guys head out."

"Um...yeah, I sent her down to the Tac room with the rest of the class. She should be in the women's locker room getting dressed by now." " He couldn't help noticing there was not a trace of the other man's usual confidence; the smug Scarecrow swagger was gone. Aside from the obvious physical exhaustion, he looked...utterly defeated. He wondered if he was still worried about his wife's safety and was here to try to talk her out of it. Had something happened that he wasn't aware of? Surely not when he'd just spoken to her about it. He knew she was strong-willed and determined to prove herself, but since she had children at home depending on her, she wouldn't put herself in harm's way unnecessarily. He wondered if he even should ask with the way Scarecrow had reacted to him bringing up her shooting yesterday, he opted not to and instead gestured to one of the unused desks. "You're welcome to wait for her."

Lee nodded numbly and took a seat. "Thanks."

"Do you...do you..." he hedged, not sure how to approach this situation when Lee was clearly upset by something new. Was it the case or was it Amanda? "Do you need to talk about it? I mean, we _are_ going to be working together."

The other man shook his head. "No. Not right now. I just need Amanda."

Beaman frowned. By the weary, guilt-ridden look on Lee's face, he felt pretty sure that it was about more than Amanda's health, but finally decided to ask. "Is this about her doing this class exercise?"

"No," Lee replied in the same flat tone.

When the students began filing back into the room, Beaman said loudly, "Why don't you all wait out in the hall until everyone's back, then we'll all head out together?" He didn't think they needed to see one of the Agency's best in the state he was in. Besides that, he got the feeling that Lee wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of people.

Lee flashed him a half-smile in gratitude. "Thanks."

When Amanda finally returned, Beaman called her name and gestured to her husband. "Lee?" she questioned. She knew in an instant by the distressed look on his face that something was really wrong and hurried to his side, reaching out to hold his hand.

"Sally Wong is dead," he moaned pitifully as he gripped her hand tightly for support. "Brody got to her too."

"That nice nurse who helped you when you were in the hospital?" She let go of his hand to wrap her arms around him in a comforting embrace. "Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry."

Just as Francine had earlier, Beaman sensed that they needed some privacy, so he left the room. closed the door behind him and spoke to the rest of his class. "Sorry, Guys. We're going to be delayed a bit. Something's come up and I need to go talk to Billy." He already knew from reading the case files Francine had given him that the Agency had the Barnstorm List in their possession. Someone needed to get the word out immediately to Lee's other contacts on that list to get the hell out of Dodge and fast. Since it didn't seem Lee was in any shape to do so himself at the moment, someone had to step up.


End file.
